>> and i'm jon kelly. good morning, everybody. yes, the damage and destruction all over that east coast this morning in the wake of hurricane sandy, but the hardest hit is new york city, just devastating out there. two people were injured when a total of 50 homes burned overnight in queens and floodwaters there made it very, very difficult for firefighters on that scene to get water pressure there in their hoses to take down those fires. and this morning to talk about all this coverage, we do have team coverage in place of this aftermath of hurricane sandy, now changed to a superstorm. we will get things going out there. we're being told over six million people are without power up and down the east coast. our team coverage will include marla tellez. we also have christina loren will talk about all of that weather and stephanie will be out talking about what's happening as well at sfo. again, 50 plus homes have been destroyed out there, worse than irene they're being told. but let's take it live right now. nbc is covering this for us up

and down the east coast. daniel lee is live in cape may, new jersey. >> reporter: now that the sun is up we're finally starting to get a better sense of the damage all across the northeast. damage from sandy, a storm that is in no way finished as it continues to bring more wind and in some places more rain. at the height of the storm, sandy turned streets into rivers and ripped shingles from roofs in northern new jersey. sandy sent a record 13-foot storm surge into new york city, flooding tunnels, subways and streets. >> this is a once in a long time storm. the surge is very high. >> reporter: at a medical center a blown generator forced emergency evacuations. in atlantic city, new jersey, floodwaters destroyed a portion of the world famous boardwalk. the national guard rescued at least two dozen people trapped in a shelter that lost power.

>> i just think that it should have been a little well -- thought out a little earlier in the day. >> reporter: to anyone else still on the barrier island, governor chris christie offered little hope. >> this is now your responsibility. if you're still able to hear me, we need you to hunker down and get to the highest point possible. >> reporter: this superstorm wreaked havoc from connecticut to new york, stretching out more than 700 miles. strong winds at times over 80 miles an hour tore down trees and power lines. at least two homes in connecticut were destroyed by fire. flood prevent firefighters from saving them. in queens a fire damaged more than 50 homes. several people have died because of sandy and millions have no power. across the nation, more than 12,000 flights have been cancelled. southwest virginia, parts of tennessee and the north carolina mountains are all facing a winter storm warning through wednesday morning. this storm could impact 60 million people and isn't finished yet.

early estimates put the damage between 10 and $20 billion and this could be one of the most costly storms in u.s. history. >> and the cost of lives lost as well. a tall ship crew member now dead after being rescued in rough atlantic waters churned by the hurricane. the coast guard says 42-year-old claudeine christian died after being pulled unresponsive from the water monday night. 14 other crew members were rescued from the hms bounty off the coast of north carolina. the coast guard is still looking for the ship's captain. further north in canada, hurricane sandy is being blamed for a death in the largest city up there. police in toronto say a woman was killed by a falling sign that was ripped up by high winds. the winds were about 40 miles an hour at the time that woman was hit. the storm is set to arrive full force in canada early today with powerful winds and all sorts of

rain. the hardest hit areas should be ontario, quebec and also some seaside provinces. now that sunlight has arrived on the east coast, we're tracking some of the damage that we can see. some amazing new video just into our new room. i want to check in with nbc bay area's marla tellez. >> reporter: laura, good morning. as day breaks we're getting a better sense of damage sandy is leaving behind of the one of the hardest hit cities is new york where travel is at a stand still as you mentioned. new pictures shows why. at least at jfk international airport. take a look, this runway here completely flooded. all east coast flights are still cancelled today, of course. the airports themselves are closed. jfk airport officials say they hope to reopen tomorrow. right here, this is the scene in one part of queens where a street looks more like a river. we told you this same flooded neighborhood also caught fire. initially officials said flames destroyed about 50 homes in rockaway beach, queens,

overnight. the updated number is 80 to 100 homes are said to be in ruin, but that six-alarm fire is now out. in complete contrast, times square looks more like a ghost town today. 100% empty, only filled with high winds and rain. at least five people have reportedly died in new york overnight. in new jersey where sandy made landfall last night with 80-mile-per-hour sustained winds, boardwalks and beaches as you can see are under water and just this morning we are keeping our eye on a very fluid situation, a levee breach in northern new jersey that has flooded an entire town forcing as many as 1,000 people to evacuate. now, we understand there is quite a rescue under way with people just scrambling to their rooftops to get to safety. as soon as we get that video into our new room, we will bring that to you. jon and laura. >> thank you very much. that hurricane of course is not hitting the west coast but it's still having an impact out here on us in the bay area. a live look at san francisco where the flights are still being cancelled at sfo because

of some storm damage. this morning we've just learned jfk airport scheduled to reopen sometime tomorrow morning. still no word at this point exactly when those flights will resume at la guardia and newark. stephanie is at sfo right now gathering all the latest information. she will have a live report coming up for us in ten minutes. also keeping an eye on the storm since the very beginning, our meteorologist, christina loren. this was so huge, you saw it coming in. >> yeah, just defying all the odds. good morning to you, jon and laura. as you traditionally expect, storms as they move to the north over the cooler water, they start to lose energy. we saw sandy actually gain energy and momentum yesterday. that was times square completely clear. i just want to show you the overall size of this storm. sandy actually intensified yesterday, at one point up to 90-mile-per-hour sustained winds making it a very strong category 1. at this point it's a strong

tropical storm but it's still carving out a devastating path. i'll widen out and she you how big this system is. 65 miles per hour at the core. winds are very, very strong. we're seeing gusts in addition to that up to 80 miles per hour, damaging wind gusts. this area has had a prolonged cell of this very, very windy weather. what we're expecting throughout the day more downed trees, more downed power lines, more reports of power outages in this region of the country. right now the center of low pressure is 80 miles west of philly. we're getting very heavy rain in d.c. we have blizzard warnings in place for much of west virginia. and the good news is, if there is any good news, the system will clear out of here quickly. it should be down to a depression at the end of the day and then start to race into canada as we head through tonight. so this is what we are talking about in terms of storm reports. so far almost a 14-foot storm surge in new york city. we had reports of a wave 32.5 feet high. that's tantamount to a

three-story building. we still have a lot of damage on the runways of the airports in new york, new jersey and connecticut. we'll continue to bring you updates on this very devastating storm sandy and where she's headed next coming up. first let's check your drive with mike inouye. >> definitely a big concern to the bay area residents. why would i show you this ugly picture? because that's what you're dealing with. the headlights are northbound 280. we normally show you the approach and i can't see that. we're well under a quarter mile visibility. let me show you the maps. this is north 280 pass buying that 17/880 interchange. not a lot of slowing although the speeds very close to the speed limit because of that lower visibility. 87 and 85 show the slowdown as well as you're traveling north and the build starts at capital heading up into downtown for 87. here's 101 with the slowdown as

well up towards 880. another live look outside and we'll end with this shot. the glowing lights. low clouds have within an issue but the speeds and visibility okay for 101. 880 in oakland, that is an issue and we'll show you that coming up. >> nks thathanks, mike. bob redell joins us live from the city with a preview of the celebration and what fans need to know before joining in on that fun. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning to you, laura. the parade will end here at the civic center plaza in san francisco. you can see behind me the city has already got a stage set up so the people who show up here, it's going to be an enormous crowd they're expecting again can hear from the players. there will be a slight ti difference from the ticker tape parade in 2010. instead of beginning in the heart of the financial district, the parade will start at 11:00 tomorrow morning at justin herman plaza at the foot of market. it will head up market, take a right on mcalster and end up

over here at city hall where workers are already installing the 6,000 steel barricades that need to be installed around the civic center plaza and along the market street parade route. it's a herculean task that began with a 12-hour shift sunday, another yesterday, there's going to be another today and who knows what tomorrow. >> they deserve it. they give us pleasure all year just watching them. it was awesome. an awesome season. >> reporter: the city is expecting a crowd similar in size to what we saw a couple years ago. we're talking about more than a million people jammed into downtown san francisco. you do the math, it's going to be very difficult trying to get into the city. clearly you probably don't want to drive. if you do, get here early. parking will be expensive and sparse. transit agencies are suggesting

you buy your tickets now. b.a.r.t. will run a longer schedule. muni will have to reroute some of its lines. a lot of its lines are up and down market so that will be impacted. they'll also add shuttle buses to compensate. golden gate transit will have extra ferries on stand by between sf and lockers spur and sausalito and caltrain will be adding extra trains up and down the peninsula. the streets should start shutting down by 9:00 in the morning and be back open by 5:00. the time now 6:11. coming up, despite that hurricane and all the devastation, for some in new york the show must go on. the curtain going up on late night comedians, but there is a catch. we'll show you how the jokes keep roll in new york without the audience. the show did not continue on the stock market, closed for a second straight day and a big shakeup in apple. and it is so quiet on times square this morning. look at that, a few cabs driving this the distance there. a few people walking around but

not the hustle and bustle that you usually see as we take a live look from new york this morning. alright let's break it down. mom, pop it. ♪ two inches apart, becky. two inches. t-minus nine minutes. [ ding ] [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls. let the making begin. ♪ too bad the guys aren't here we're clear. ok, swarm! swarm! hello [ female announcer ] pillsbury chocolate chip cookies. let the making begin

an update to our breaking news this morning as we take a live look at connecticut this morning. look at hurricane sandy leaving its mark. this huge tree just going down. luckily it doesn't look like -- well, it looked like it went into some sort of home there on the side. we're assessing so much damage this morning. now the aftermath of that storm. meantime on the west coast while our weather is very mild, we are feeling the effects of the storms as dozens of flights

bound for the east coast have been cancelled for a second day and we've now learned that jfk in new york will not even reopen until tomorrow. stephanie spoke to stranded travelers just trying to get home and she joins us live from sfo. what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, lower avmt right now the latest is the cancellation number stands at 114 for arriving and departing flights in and out of san francisco international and related to many of the northeast airports. if you take a look at the poured, especially with what you're saying with jfk closed, this is going to grow, the number of cancellations. not just jfk but la guardia and newark also shut down. airports are erring on the side of caution and not flying anyone in or out this morning. we spoke with some passengers off camera whose flights were cancelled to places like calgary, canada, and to the northeast, including two businessmen from new york who were changing plans right during our interview.

>> well, our flight was supposed to leave at 6:00 now, okay. but that was to chicago. now we're trying the oar option to go to l.a. no, we're not doing that, we're changing. okay, so we're going back to l.a. to new york tomorrow. >> so that's the latest. he was on the phone with a travel agent to try to get the best way back. >> reporter: so they are off to a hotel before catching a flight to l.a. the number of cancelled flights right now at 114 is expected to go up throughout the day and especially with the news jfk not opening until tomorrow. meantime at oakland international, only a couple of cancellations out of a couple hundred. that also expected to change. and the issue of whether the passengers will actually make it back to the northeast any time soon a different issue altogether. live at sfo, now back to you. >> all right. if you happen to be waking up with us, here's a quick check on the day's top stories.

pg&e trying to help out on the east coast sending crews to help repair damage after a massive transformer explosion you can see there. that happened at the con edison power plant. pg&e sending more than 50 employees from northern and central california. take a look at this crane just left dangling overnight after bowing toppled by wind at a luxury high rise in new york city. winds have been close to 95 miles per hour at the time of that collapse. also two people hurt after a fire rips through 50 homes in queens, new york. that happened overnight. 190 firefighters were called to that scene but they had an extremely hard time getting there because of all the flooding waters. in the meantime trillions of dollars sit idle as the world waits for america's stock markets to reopen. >> scott mcgrew, that will not be too. >> no, it won't, that's right. this sill be the first time the

first time the new york stock exchange has been closed two days for weather since shortly after the civil war. officials will meet today to discuss plans to reopen tomorrow. there were reports on cable news that water had flooded into the floor of the new york stock exchange. those reports were not true. now, tomorrow is the last day of october. it's really important the markets reopen in some fashion by tomorrow because certain trades simply have to be closed out pby the end of the month. a huge shakeup at apple. one of steve jobs' closest associates, a man who some thought would replace jobs as ceo of apple is out. scott forstall has been with apple since jobs came back in the '90s. he was central to everything apple did. however, he was the guy in charge of both siri and apple maps, and those were both a disappointment. maps was a disaster. forstall was asked to leave

after he would not personally apologize for apple maps, leaving ceo tim cook to do it instead. i've talked with and texted a number of people at apple. many are pleased with the change. let me take you inside baseball for a moechment. this is what you get when you play a podcast on ipad. they argued over this with forstall over and over. he loves the idea of taking the reel-to-reel tape recorder and showing that as an example. apple engineers can't stand that. it's a tiny little argument the two sides had, but it was a huge argument. and they are -- >> because they're saying that wasn't it? >> they were saying it's silly. it wasn't up to date. who's had a reel-to-reel tape recorder. this is one of those things scott forstall absolutely adored. >> i can see getting hung up on it but not to battle over it. changes at apple big-time.

changes out here in our weather looks like small time. >> yeah, small time, but we get a good change coming this sunday. >> good. >> the time change. >> oh, wait, bad, right? >> oh, no, it's good, sister. it's good. we get to fall back into bed for an extra hour and on this shift we'll take every second we can get. it's 6:20 now. i want to show you this live picture over sunol. you can see there's a lot of fog out there. nonetheless, drivers charging to work in the fog. it is going to get worse before it gets better. we're expecting the most intense fog as we get into this afternoon -- excuse me, into about 9:00 a.m. and we'll start to clear out in the afternoon. it's 6:20 now. i want to show you this live picture. temperatures are cool this morning, 57 in san jose, 51 in livermore and 48 in gilroy. as we head throughout the afternoon, we are going to get rid of this fog 9:00 to noon and the sun comes out in full force. a little bit of rain on the way. we'll show you when we stop the

clock on your futurecast at 1:00 p.m. today. we're expecting the rain to start up in the north bay as we get into your halloween evening. so here it is. wednesday we stop the clock between 5:00 and 9:00, the showers will start to push to the south of the golden gate bridge, but you should be able to get your trick-or-treating in before the rain arrives. then the rain really starts to come in between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. thursday. we'll have potentially up to a half of an inch of rain in parts of the north bay so that mean we'll see a really slow drive on thursday morning. keep that in mind already. 74 in concord, 77 in livermore and 71 in fremont. 69 in san francisco, fantastic conditions as there's going to be a lot of people even out there today celebrating our world champion san francisco giants. now, thursday the rain will be heavy early and then we'll clear out for the second half of the day. by friday a little bit of fog and we'll see some lingering activity as well. as we get into the weekend, nice sunny days.

76 on saturday, 81 on sunday. let's check on your drive with mike. >> hey, folks, let's show you the whole story. it's a traffic tuesday but actually a little lighter than we typically see as far as the build goes. i think some folks are adjusting their schedule for tomorrow, thinking about getting out of work early for halloween or also the midday parade we have. so folks driving now, a lot of traffic north 101. notice this. the low clouds and fog hovering around in many patches throughout the bay area, including the 280/880 interchange. i saw a thick patch travel through there the last few minutes as well. fremont tough to see with our cameras. through oakland, we can finally see the nimitz freeway and just in time for that commute to kick in anywhere north. here are the flashing lights on high street. there was a disabled vehicle. lanes clear in the nobody direction to the toll plaza. another live look shows you the backup and we can now make out the east shore freeway. we couldn't until five minutes ago and there you go. at least close to the camera, we

can see the westbound commute. it's actually pretty good approaching the berkeley curve, but coming down through emeryville and berkeley off of the east shore freeway and off of the richmond bridge, it's a little crowded guys. there's the san mateo bridge, still foggy on the peninsula, guys. back to you. >> thanks, mike. it is 6:23 right now. coming up, how about this. telling jokes to an empty theater. we'll let you know how the hurricane put a damper on late night tv out of new york city. [ female announcer ] pillsbury crescents

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6:25 right now.

we've been talking about it all morning long, that hurricane causing all sorts of problems on the east coast and also causing late night shows to be canceled monday night. >> but the show went on, they just had to adjust. jimmy fallon, david letterman just went on without an audience. jimmy did hi best impersonation of a weather reporter standing outside in the soggy streets with a microphone. after that he went inside to interview some guests, even did his own monologue as planned, pointing to a crowd that wasn't there. >> welcome to "late night with jimmy fallon," everybody, please. please keep it down. >> wait a minute, i think i hear people banging at the door of the theater demanding to come in. wait a minute! we don't want to miss this! >> kind of doing a show with their friends. david letterman also performed for no one, except paul schaefer and the late show orchestra. the good old crew clapping for

him. >> houseful of casts for the ghosts. still ahead, in the dark one of the biggest and most vibrant cities in the world waking up without power and public transportation. we've got live team coverage on superstorm sandy just ahead. up and down that east coast, it is devastating. this is washington, d.c., a live look from the sky. the water just rising and rising. 13-foot waves crashing into that east coast. we will continue to cover the devastation from hurricane sandy. [ male announcer ] pillsbury grands biscuits.

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this is a once in a long time storm. the surge is very high. >> this is now your

responsibility. if you're still able to hear me, we need you to hunker down and get to the highest point possible. >> please listen to what your state and local officials are saying. >> after the storm this morning, the sun coming up on a trail of death and destruction left in the wake of superstorm sandy. it is 6:30. good morning, everybody. i'm jon kelley. >> and i'm laura garcia-cannon. this morning a neighborhood flooded by hurricane water now wiped out by fire after flames tore through 50 homes in queens, new york, overnight. two people were injured, nearly 200 firefighters were called out to try to battle those flames. this morning a live look from washington, d.c., this morning. a look from the sky where there is so much more damage to report. look at the flooding. at least 16 people are confirmed dead along the east coast just because of this massive storm. we have team coverage on the hurricane aftermath and its ripple effect it is having across the country. we begin with scott mcgrew this

morning live in our studio. he's got the very latest on the financial markets that are closed again due to that superstorm. >> good morning, laura. it's 6:31. a minute ago the new york stock exchange should have opened for trading. the last time the nyse was shut down for more than one day was way back in 1888 when there was a huge snowstorm with drifts that piled so high no one could get in. with a look at the markets, we'll bring jackie deappearing le -- jackie deangeles on this from cnbc. i imagine nyse is working on a backup plan here? >> reporter: they are. in fact they do have a plan they are working on. the nyse will start testing a new contingency plan today. that testing started at 8:00 a.m. eastern time and will last until noon. the plan will make trading possible electronically on the arca exchange but we're not sure if the contingencies will be

needed. there is a lot of damage and flooding in lower manhattan. the hope is to be able to get into the building. that will all depend on not only how the nyse fared through the the storm but also the surrounding areas leading up to it. >> jackie, the markets really have to reopen by tomorrow in some fashion because you have these contracts ending. tomorrow is the last day of october. >> reporter: that's exactly right. so the hope as of now is to reopen tomorrow. but in the event that the physical floor can't open, that electronic platform will be in place. tomorrow is the last day of the month. that is when traders are pricing their portfolios so really it is looked at as a crucial day of trade. >> thanks for being with us this morning. laura, lots of business news happening. lots of shakeups, for instance, at apple. but investors can't react to any of this. we've got the jobs number coming on friday. so far we can't get ready for that, because no markets. >> everything at a standstill. thank you very much. in fact power still out as

well for hundreds of thousands of new yorkers. we've got a live look this time from washington, d.c. take a look at the flooding that they have there. the utility actually cutting power to about 6500 customers, this in lower manhattan, to lessen damage to the subway system and the underground electrical system. about 670,000 customers have been without power overnight in new york city and in suburban west chester county. more than 200 patients had to be taken away from a new york hospital on gurneys after their backup generator failed during a power outage. ambulances were on hand to carry those patients from nyu's medical center to nearby hospitals there. floodlights were also set up in the lobby to help guide staff and patients toward the doors. physicians and staff went with patients to ensure their health

was not put at risk during the move. the hospital describes the move as orderly and calm. >> and those strong winds being blamed for the partial collapse of a building in manhattan. this morning rooms are exposed but no one injured after the front wall just came down monday night at a four-story building in the west village. firefighters were able to help some residents get to safety. >> we can also tell you it's not just new york feeling the brunt of hurricane sandy. this is new video shot from early this morning of a large tree falling right on top of a house in stonington, connecticut, there. about 7,000 people are without power in that area in just that little town alone. high wind have taken trees and wind and just tossed whole trees all along that coastal rhode island. power also out in parts of that state. forecasters in the area reporting winds there blasting up to 80 miles per hour. along with the damage, jon, there was also outrage this

morning, this time from the governor of new jersey, after two dozen people had to be rescued from emergency shelters in atlantic city. rescuers had to move people from those shelters after hurricane winds knocked out power. governor chris christie says the shelters never should have been opened in the first place. he says he's disappointed with the mayor of the city for disregarding mandatory evacuation orders. >> where for whatever reason mayor langford urged people to stay in shelters in the city. despite my admonition to evacuate, he gave them comfort for some reason to stay. we now have a large number of people, be can't quantify it at this point, that are in atlantic city and at this juncture there is no other way for us to go in and get them. they're going to have to ride out the storm there. >> late monday nightmare lorenzo langford responded to governor christie telling cnn's anderson

cooper, quote, i do not wish to engage the governor in a verbal joust. there will be plenty of time for finger pointing and monday morning quarterbacks. aftermath from that hurricane is bringing the presidential race to a complete halt with just one week to go before the election. tracie potts is live in washington, d.c., right now. tracie, part of the residual effect of hurricane sandy is it's wreaking havoc on millions of potential voters out there. >> reporter: absolutely. you know, will we have an election? probably so. will we have campaigning? not today. both campaigns have had to make adjustments as sandy came rolling ashore and had an impact on this election just seven days before voters head to the polls. instead of campaigning today as planned, president obama is getting briefings at the white house and warning americans. >> please listen to what your state and local officials are saying. when they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate.

>> reporter: eight states plus washington, d.c., were declared federal disaster areas before the storm hit. west virginia was added early this morning. president clinton filled in in ohio. >> he got up this morning and called me and he said, i've got to go back right now, this storm is getting out of hand. i've got to handle it. and i said, mr. president, that is the right call. >> reporter: governor mitt romney scheduled a storm relief rally in ohio today. he and paul ryan are urging supporters to donate. >> swing by, give a hand. >> make sure we do our very best to help those that are being impacted by the storm. >> anything he says injects pure politics into it. and so you want to be careful if you're the romney team to keep an eye on it, obviously. but don't necessarily try to get in front of the story in any way. >> reporter: one week before the election, polls are tied, but campaigning at a standstill. >> i am not worried at this point about the impact on the election, i'm worried about the

impact on families. >> reporter: families also impacted by jobs, and the labor department telling us the jobs report that's supposed to come out friday, the last one before the election, should be on time. they have had people at homeworking on crunching the numbers while the federal government was closed. >> all right, tracie potts from washington, d.c. thank you very much for the update. in the mean time as so many east coast, christina loren is keeping an eye on it. >> it was a category 1 storm when it came onshore. right now it's still a strong tropical storm with max winds at 65 miles per hour. it's going to continue to move to the north as we head throughout this afternoon and continue to bring that path of destruction. we have heavy, heavy snowfall coming down in west virginia. very, very rare to get snow when you're talking about a hurricane, but that is indeed the case. blizzard warnings in place for much of west virginia. we have heavy rain coming down

in d.c. and we will continue to get those devastating storm reports as we head throughout the morning, so stick with us here on nbc bay area and we'll continue to cover this for you. back to you for now. it is 6:39. we will check traffic with mike inouye just ahead. ♪

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welcome back. it's 6: 41. this is a live look at the south bay 101. but more importantly the glowing lights. low clouds and fog. i'll tell you about it, it's definitely impacting your drive. good morning, i'm mike inouye.

here's another area where the fog is thicker than in the south pay. this is the east shore freeway. up until now i haven't been able to show you a good shot. here we go. now just low clouds but at the top of your screen coming out of the dark we have the traffic flowing westbound 80 past the racetrack. look at that build. there's a disabled vehicle and the orange area shows you where there's thick fog all the way over to walnut creek, watch the caldecott tunnel. also just south of the san mateo bridge. we'll get a live look at the hayward side and there's slowing as you head across the flat section into the high rise where you also get lower visibility. be careful. back to you. 6:42. coming up, public transportation at a stand distill. dramatic photos of the east coast. just ahead we'll have live team coverage. good morning! wow.

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and we have an update to breaking news for you this morning as superstorm sandy moves inland from the east coast. this morning we're seeing flooding, fires and levees breaking as much of the east coast waking up without power and public transportation. as of this morning, at least 16 people have lost their lives. we also have a team in place this morning with a look at how the storm is affecting the entire country. meteorologist christina loren tracking the weather, stephanie traung looking at flight cancellations but we begin with marla tellez with the latest developments on the east coast. >> reporter: good morning. we want to show you two different perspectives of sandy, her wrath and her aftermath. sandy has moved west away from the eastern seaboard and is making her presence known in

northeast ohio. this right here is cleveland where the wind is more the problem than the rain. rough water is battering the waterfront of lake erie this morning. there are power outages and flight delays. cleveland airport not immune to sandy. now a look at what sandy left behind in our nation's capital. wind gusts as high as 80 miles per hour in washington, d.c., taking out trees and power lines. at one point this morning, more than 280,000 people said to be in the dark, and officials say it will take days to fix all those outages. and a look at where sandy started. new jersey. governor chris christie announcing just a few minutes ago the garden state parkway, which is an extremely busy roadway, has reopened, so progress is certainly being made there. as for air travel this morning, almost 16,000 flights have been cancelled so far, all because of sandy. jon. >> okay, marla, thank you very much. we can also tell you that bus and subway service is still shut down out in new york city and

surrounding areas this morning. new york's mta says a total of seven subway tunnels under that east river are now flooded. stations are also flooded in new jersey. this is a train station in hoboken. you can see the water just busting right through that door. you can see it pushing through as the water covers the ticketing area. meantime a crane toppled over by fierce winds is still dangling from the top of a luxury high rise in new york city. emergency crews say the crane is too dangerous to remove right now. surrounding streets and buildings evacuated just as a precaution. the wind at the top of the building may have been close to 95 miles per hour at the time of that collapse. the city had put all construction work to a halt over the weekend ahead of the storm and had asked contractors and property owners to try to secure their sites. no surprise sandy's impact being felt all over the country this morning. hundreds of flight to new york, new jersey and other airports have been cancelled forcing

travelers to spend the night in the terminals. stephanie joins us live from sfo where some travelers at this point are hoping that today will be the day they get to fly out. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: yes, they are hoping just that. so far here at sfo, 114 cancelled flights, 64 arriving and 50 of them departures. an sfo spokesperson saying that number could be going up, will likely go up throughout the day. we did see some people sleeping overnight here at sfo hoping to make the next possible flight. most of the cancellations, as you'd expect, are for flights to and from the three major new york hubs of jfk, la guardia and newark international. this left passengers stranded all morning trying to get back home. >> i have a wife at home. >> reporter: and she's been talking to you. what has she been telling you? >> she's fine. we're not in a flood area.

she's fine, but of course she's anxious as well. but she knows i'm trying to get home. >> reporter: from washington, d.c., north to boston, airports are open. they are not allowing any arrivals or departures until safe, though. airlines may add some flights later tonight along with redeye options. back here live you're seeing the board. 114 cancellations out of the average of 600 flights that come in and out of sfo every day. a normal number of cancellations is more like 10 to 12, so that gives you an idea of the impact that sandy has had on travel everywhere, including, of course, here in the bay area. live at sfo, now back to you. >> thank you very much. we want to check in with christina right now. the worst of the storm, we're through it or at least they are on the east coast? >> we are through with the most intense part of the storm but you have to consider the fact that these prolonged winds have been just battering the trees and the buildings in the area,

so we still have winds at 65 miles per hour at the storm's core. we are still expecting a lot more damage and storm reports as we head throughout the morning. this is our nation's capital this morning, 6:50 a.m. here. as you know there's a three-hour time change. what i can tell you is this is very, very dangerous and they're still getting heavy rain in d.c. let's talk about some of the other storm reports that we have. we have so many records coming into play when it comes to sandy. record storm surge in new york city, almost 14 feet high. we had a report of a wave that was almost three stories tall at 32 feet. we have a lot of runway damage in new jersey, new york and connecticut the at the airports there. so here is that massive storm, as you can see it here. very, very big, very organized, packing max winds of 65 miles per hour, moving west-north west at 15 miles per hour. it's going to speed up and race to the north the next 48 hours.

in fact now that it's over the land and it has its moisture supply cut off, it's going to start to weaken significantly. in fact we're expecting it to be at low pressure strength once it races into canada as we get into 2:00 p.m. tomorrow. let's talk about what's happening here in the bay area. a much calmer situation. we do have some fog, though, that can be dangerous. give yourself a little extra time to reach your destination safely. not quite as thick as yesterday but running at about a quarter of mile visibility from napa to santa rosa and mile and a quarter at san mateo. we'll see the fog clear between 12:00 and 1:00. mostly cloudy up in the north bay at that point. the rain arrives halloween evening and i think you might need to plan on showers in the north bay for your trick-or-treating plans. as we head into early thursday, we start to clear out but count on a rough commute. temperatures in the 70s today, but tomorrow the low 70s and 60s return as we get into thursday and friday. good-looking weekend for outdoor plans. let's check on how that fog is impacting your drive with mike. >> definitely an issue and has

been all morning. as you also know the fog doesn't stick around in one spot, it tends to move around. here we have the beckrkeley cur. this is west 80. so these folks heading over to the bay bridge toll plaza, these folks heading that way to 580 and 880 so a smooth flow right there at the maze. just after you get past this and head toward west grand avenue, that's when things really stop up heading toward the bay bridge toll plaza. the view much better, the fog a little lighter here but north of here and also the north bay itself, san rafael, tough drive through that area. oakland, we couldn't take a look until after have half an hour ago. the volume is starting to cause some slowing. the southbound side starts to slow right around the san mateo bridge but it's not a big deal now that the fog has kind of lifted as you approach the toll plaza as well. we'll look at the peninsula side. northbound 101, you can no longer make out the signs for the shopping center just off at university. here the glowing lights, there

is fog now and that's an issue between palo alto and let's look at the map. between palo alto and san mateo, the two bridges, the dumbarton bridge and san mateo bridge. fog will be a factor for visibility on your drive. also 880 across the way heading through hayward into union city. your northbound routes are jamming from 101, 85 and 87 all showing a slowdown for traffic tuesday. fremont, i couldn't show you this until a few minutes ago. you can see 880 passing down toward mission. back to you. the man accused of abducting an killing sierra lamar is due back in court today. the hearing will be this afternoon but it's unclear whether he will waive his right to appear. garcia-torres accused of abducting lamar back in march. prosecutors charging him with murder, even though the body of the morgan hill teenager has never been found. 6:53. officials with america's stock markets meeting right now to try

to get those trading floors reopened. >> scott mcgrew, the first time the markets have been closed two straight days since the 9/11 attacks. >> the first time they were closed because of weather for two days since 1888. no way for investors to react to the latest news from apple. one of steve jobs' closest associates is out, scott forstall, who brought the world ios, the elegant software that runs iphones has lost his job. the prime reason is that flap over the terrible apple maps. the company's head of retail also leaving this morning. microsoft's ceo was in san francisco showing off new windows phones. these will be available next month. microsoft has added clever touches to its new smartphone operating system, including a kids-only zone, so your kids can play, for instance, angry birds but not e-mail your boss or delete all your pictures. obviously apple got the jump on them but they have looked at the iphone and said what can we add

in here that's missing and make it new and interesting, and it is. >> pretty clever there. thank you very much. 6:55. big preparations going on right now in san francisco as the city hosts the giants celebratory ticker tape parade tomorrow. more than a million fans are expected to show up for that party. bob redell is live in san francisco with a preview of the parade and what fans certainly need to know before heading into the city. good morning, bob. >> reporter: good morning to you, laura. that ticker tape celebration will culminate right here at the civic center plaza in downtown san francisco. you can see they have already got a stage set up so that the players can get up there and say whatever they want to the fans. there will be a lot of people out here. there will be a slight change from the parade that we witnessed in 2010. instead of winding through starting in the heart of the financial district, the parade will start 11:00 tomorrow morning at justin herman plaza at the foot of market, will head up mark, take a right on mcallister and wind up at city

hall where workers are already installing the 6,000 steel barricades that need to be installed along sisk center plaza and the market street parade route. it's a task that began on sunday with a 12-hour shift, one yesterday, another 12-hour shift today and who knows what's going to happen tomorrow. >> they deserve it. they give us pleasure all year just watching them. it was awesome. an awesome season. >> reporter: one of the workers trying to get the city ready for the parade. the city is expecting a crowd similar in size to a couple years ago. we're talking about over a million people jammed into downtown sf. you do the math, it's going to be very difficult trying to get into the city. first off, transit agencies are suggesting you buy your tickets now before tomorrow. bart will be running on a rush hour schedule with longer trains, more frequent service. muni will have to reroute some of its lienes. golden gate transit will have extra ferries between the city

and sausalito and larkspur and caltrain will run additional trains up and down the peninsula. they will start shutting the roads down around 9:30 and should be reopened by 5:00 here in the downtown area. because nbc bay area is the broadcast home of the san francisco giants, we will have special access during the celebration. you will want to tune in. our coverage begins tomorrow morning at 11:00. reporting live in san francisco, bob redell, "today in the bay." >> it's going to be a blast, thank you very much. 6:57. san francisco police will be out in force for tomorrow's parade with more than a half million people expected to attend. officers will not be tolerating any of that idiotic behavior they saw sunday night when the giants actually won the world series. the crowds turned violent in some parts of the city setting a muni bus on fire. they flipped cars an were lighting bonfires out there. ridiculous. the police chief said he had officers deployed in all those hot spots but when the alcohol-fueled celebrations got out of control, it was not safe for officers to escort fire

crews into those unpredictable crowds. >> what came afterwards, again, fueled by alcohol, our arrests go from public drunkenness to barrel bombs and shooting a rifle recklessly out a window. >> needless to say, that one was a mess. police made a total of 35 arrests. we want to check your forecast right now with meteorologist christina loren. don't want it to rain on our parade tomorrow. >> i don't think it's going to happen, guys. yes, i do this job for a living so i have a lot riding on that forecast. there's a lot of people who can't even make it back from the east coast in time for the giants parade. the good thing is, we're going to have a lot of live coverage for you on our website, nbcbayarea.com. 77 inland, 72 bayside. let's check on the drive with mike. >> well, you know traffic tuesday, christina. so we have the south bay really kicking in with that commute. bottom of your screen, look at that, 85 slamming down from just off the almaden expressway. but here 280, the volume of

traffic one issue but we're dealing with low clouds and fog. we typically show you this entire stretch of roadway but here's 880/17 up by our camera. also tough to see 880, here's where we normally see the light-up sign. it is lit up, you just can't see it. tough drive for 880 and 101. we know what a tough time they're having on the east coast but take a look at this amazing picture out of new jersey. this is a shark spotted swimming in what is the front yard of someone's home. >> right by the porch. mind blowing. >> and it brought with it all this sea life, including that shark. >> can you imagine you're out on the front porch, here kitty, kitty and the shark just -- crazy. oh, my goodness. >> so much to keep an eye on this morning. the "today" show of course will have more coming up in just a moment with live reports. take a look at that, just one small example of some of the damage from hurricane sandy.